Corset stay shield



pril 24, 1951 w. l. HATCH ET AL CORSET STAY SHIELD Filed June 2'?, 1949Patented Apr. 24, 1951 OFFICE i consET STAY SHIELD Waiter 1 Hatch andEdna. ansich, Meridian, Calif.l j l Application June 27,

` may be used on either or both ends of each stay to prevent the`terminal ends of thestay from cutting through the material and thusdecreasing the life of the garment and possibly causing chang or actualinjury to the wearer.

' f As is well known, corsetstays are formed of strip spring steel, iiatwound' spring wire, and

g in some corsets, especially some of the older types,

'whale bone. These stays are formed of very thin material which will,particularly at the terminal ends, cut throughY the material in arelatively short time. The ends of the stay then chafe or cut into theskin of the wearer, causing in some -ca'ses painful lacerations, andwhen this occurs it is usually necessary to discardLthe-gar'ment. if?

This invention provides a shield orshoe which ts overthe terminalend ofthe stay and transfers the thrust over a relatively great'v length alongtheseam, in'addition to being sewed or `otherwise fastened'to the bodyfabric, for which lreason the stay will remain inr place so long as thegarment is otherwise iit for wear. There can be no chaiing orlacerations as it is impossible for the Stayto cut throughthe materialbecause it is rmly'held and protected by the shield with the shieldbeing doubly secured against movement, by its seating at the seamededge, and by being secured to the body fabric.

AThe objects and advantages of the invention are as follows:

First, to provide a shield for the terminal end of a corset stay, with astraight base having a width at least three times that of the stay toprevent the stay from cutting through the material of the corset.

Second, to provide a shield as outlined which is formed of relativelythin material to avoid bulging at the terminals of the stays.

Third, to provide a shield as outlined with a relatively thin bodymaterial .with av pocket formed outwardly on the front face thereof forreceiving the terminal end ofthe stay.

Fourth, to provide a shield as outlined with a pocket which isconvergent toward the bottom so as to accept stays of different widthsand permit relative rocking movement between the stay and the shield toconform to body movements.

Fifth, to provide a shield as outlined with means for securing theshield tov the outer fabric of the corset.

Sixth, to provide the Shield with a straight base with rounded cornersto eliminate any possibility 1949,' Serial No. 101,572

, 2 E of wearing or cutting through the lower end of the corset andlower edge seam.

Seventh, to provide a shield as outlined which is o f the simplestpossible construction, easy to 6 manufacture, and formed in one part ofa relatively rigid slightly resilient material.

In describing the invention reference will be had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan Viewof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the invention. Fig. 4 is a topplan view of a modicationof the invention.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation` of Fig. 4.-

In its simplest form, the .invention as illustratedin Figs..-4 and 5consists of arelatively flat section Ill of material such as amoderately rigid plastic, and having a straight lower edge I I. Otherthan thefbase II, all other parts of the shield are rounded,particularly the portion I2 at the juncture of the base II with thesides I3 so as to eliminate Vany `possibility of cutting through thematerial of the corset. Y

A pocket I4 is formed downwardly from the upper end to receive theterminal end I5 of a `stay I6, the walls of the pocket being formed asthin as possible, in the neighborhood of 0.615 inch to prevent bulging..f

With this type, the stay is forced into the pocket, the stay is theninserted at the lower end of the corset tunnel I1 (Fig, 6), and ifanother shield is desired at the upper end it is applied after the stayhas been inserted through to the top of the tunnel. This simplest typedepends on the length of the base II to distribute the thrust of thestay through several times the normal width of the stay. 40 Thepreferred form' of the invention is illu- .strated in Figs. 1 to 3 and6, and consists of a relatively thin sheet or relatively rigid materialI8 such as plastic, though othermaterials including metals may be used.

This formV is formed similarly to that illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5,having the rounded corners I2 and relatively straight base II, however,the pocket I9 converges between the sides toward the lower end so as toreceive stays 20 of different widths, so that one type of shield will besuitable for all widths of stays, and this pocket, like the pocket inFigs. 4 and 5 is formed outwardly as indicated at 2| to keep the insidesurface smooth and plane as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4 at 22, with theexception of the sewing Fig. 6 is a section taken on une .6 6 of 1.A

groove 23 which 1s formed adjacent the peripheral edge of the body I8,providing a full thickness base about the groove for maximum support.

This shield is provided with a series of sewing apertures 24 which areformed centrally of the groove so that the stitches 25 will lie withinthe groove on the inside of the shield protected against the wearingaction of the inside fabric 26 through movements of the body of thewearer, the shield being sewn to the outside fabric 21.

In addition, a'plurality of rivet holes 28 are provided for attachingthe shield by riveting instead of sewing when the shield is appliedduring manufacture. Obviously, with the sewn type, anyone can attach theshields to existing corsets and the like, while riveting would be moresuitable for manufacturing the shields directly in the corset.

An ear 29 is formed upwardly from the outside wall of the pocket topermit the shield to be riveted to the stay 3D, and this ear is providedwith an aperture3l for the rivet S2.

Thus the lower end of a tunnel can be opened, the shield inserted inposition and sewed in position, the lower end of the tunnel sewedclosed, making it possible to eliminate the tearing through withconsequent chai-lng and lacerations, and cause the corset to wear manytimes longer.

We claim:

1. A corset stay shield comprising a back member having an upper end anda lower end and formed of thin relatively rigid material and havl ing aforwardly offset portion having a pocket formed therein and extendingfrom the upper end to the lower end of the back member and open at theupper end with the sides converging downwardly for reception'of the endof a stay, with the lower end of the Ypocket having a width equal to thenarrowest stay to be used in the shield, and being capable, in View ofthe converging sides, of receiving stays of greater widths and to permitrelative rocking movement of the stay in the pocket to conform to bodymovements; said back member having a straight lower edge at right anglesto the vertical axis of the pocket and having a length at least threetimes the maximum Width of the pocket to provide an extended support atthe lower edge seam of' a corset.

2. A structure as dened in claim 1; said lower edge. having rounded endscontinuing through curvilinear side walls to the top sides of thepocket; and said back member having a groove formed in the back surfacein slightly spaced relation to the circumferential edge of the backmember and having a multiplicity `of needle holes formed through rtheback member within the confines of said groove for sewing the backmember to the outside fabric of a corset with the side walls of thegroove having a height greater than the thickness of, and thereforeprotecting the lstitches used for sewing the back member to the outsidefabric of the corset against abrasion and wear from the inside fabric ofthe corset.

3. A corset stay shield comprising, a body member having an upper endand a lower end and formed of a relatively rigid material, and having apocket formed in the upper end and extending to the lower end and havingdownwardly converging side walls, with the pocket being capable ofreceiving selectively the ends of corset stays of different widths, andhaving a width at the bottom equal to the narrowest stay to be used inthe shield, and with the converging side walls permitting relativerocking movement of the stay in the pocket to conform to body movements,and said lower end being straight and formed at right angles to thevertical axis of the pocket to provide a support for' the shield at theseam of a corset.

WALTERl I, HATCH. EDNA B. HATCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references arev of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France July 11, 1914

